Walnut sweeps into fourth straight North State final; Falkner wins on road
Walnut needed just three sets Thursday to keep its state-title defense moving, sweeping Myrtle and securing a fourth consecutive trip to the North State volleyball finals. The Lady Wildcats’ 25–12, 25–8, 25–20 victory on Oct. 8 left them as Tippah County’s last volleyball team in the playoffs after Ripley and Pine Grove were eliminated.
The home win extended Walnut’s winning streak to 12 matches and lifted its record to 31–4. It was also the Lady Wildcats’ third straight postseason sweep: Leland, East Webster and Myrtle have combined to take none of the nine sets Walnut has played in these playoffs.
Walnut allowed just 20 points across Thursday’s first two sets before Myrtle made the third considerably closer. The Lady Wildcats still closed it out by five points, with the final set and fourth straight North State berth documented in Tippah County Sports’ match coverage.
East Union, unbeaten at 36–0, is next on Monday, Oct. 12. The matchup gives Walnut another chance against a team that beat it 3–1 on Sept. 1.
Ripley’s four-match winning streak ended at home against New Albany, which won 25–10, 25–22, 25–18. After a 15-point opening-set loss, the Lady Tigers narrowed the margin to three in the second but could not extend the Class 4A third-round match. Ripley finished 17–16, having advanced with four-set victories over North Pontotoc and Itawamba Agricultural.
In Class 1A, Pine Grove fell 25–20, 25–18, 25–22 at Ingomar. The Panthers’ closest set came in the third, but the Falcons completed the sweep to improve to 24–7. Pine Grove ended its run at 23–12 after sweeping West Lowndes and West Union in the first two rounds.
On the football field, Falkner earned its first road victory of the season, beating Riverside 28–22 in Avon. The Eagles evened their record at 3–3 after losing their previous three away games. They open division play at Ashland on Oct. 16, carrying a six-point win into that stretch after last week’s 35–12 loss at Smithville.
